How do you barter?

[NickmasterX]

So I went to the flea market today, and I picked out these loose games:

Snes
Math Blaster
Ren and Stimpy Veediots
Chuck Rock

Nes
Gumshoe
Karnov
Ice Climber
another nes game i forget

....but I ended up buying none of them. The guy was charging 5 dollars a pop! I can understand maybe for the Snes games, but for loose nes games? Crazy. So I tried to talk him down but he wouldn't budge. I tried telling him that I could find some of these for chump change on ebay. I even offered $20 for 5 games and he still said no, that he paid "a bundle" for these games. Has anyone else experienced this? What are some tips for talking people down? Was I too stingy?

[Jibbajaba]

Today I went to the flea market. I picked out 3 Atari games from a guy who always charges me $2 a pop. Today he wanted $5 each. Fuck you, bud. So I say 'Thanks anyway' and start to walk off. Then all of a sudden he'll take $3. I don't think so. He tried to give me some line about how the market has changed and the price went up. Take a fucking walk, pal.

See, here's my line of thinking. I am not going to encourage these fuckers who charge eBay or more at a dirt mall. Once he said $5 each, I knew I would never buy anything from him again. $2 each for common VCS carts is a fair price. I am not trying to rip him off. I didn't have a Quadrun or Chase the Chuckwagon in my hand. I had freakin commons. The way I see it, HE was trying to rip ME off. I don't tolerate that. The problem is that I am a white dude dressed in decent clothes and shoes at a flea market in a bad part of town. They look at me and think $$$$, and I'm no going to tolerate it.

So my answer to your question is that when you encounter someone like that, just walk away. Fuck 'em. Look man, if he had anything good, then you wouldn't mind paying $5 for it. If it isn't good enough to pay $5 for, then it is easy to walk away from. I'll give a seller one chance to lower the price. They tell me the price, I counter-offer, and if they don't go low enough, then I walk and I don't turn around. You need to know what you are willing to pay for something, and then not pay anything more than that. If I would be willing to pay $3 for something he want's $5 for, then I offer $2, and if he doesn't come down to $3 then I'm gone.

It's a shitty attitude that I have, but eBay has really fucked up things like flea markets. These guys see how much atari carts go for on eBay, and they think that they can sell the same cart, only dirtier, for the same price at a filthy dirt mall. That attitude just drives me nuts.

Chris

[Steven]

please see this topic about bartering and everything else flea market related.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=82275

plenty of great tips and stories there

[Steven]

Today I went to the flea market. I picked out 3 Atari games from a guy who always charges me $2 a pop. Today he wanted $5 each. Fuck you, bud. So I say 'Thanks anyway' and start to walk off. Then all of a sudden he'll take $3. I don't think so. He tried to give me some line about how the market has changed and the price went up. Take a fucking walk, pal.

snip

Chris

Nice story. Yeah, some vendors can be asses. You just have to know when to walk away. This one guy wanted $12 for every SNES game, and $38 for a loose Contra III. Is he fucking kidding? Screw that!

To the original poster, no you were not being stingy. $5 for a SNES game is decent (as long as it's not a common sports game) but $5 for common dirt-cheap NES games is a rip-off. Never pay more than what you can/are willing to. I've been to the flea market like 7 or 8 times this year... more this year than ever before in my life combined. Came home with some good snags, other times came home empty handed. But it's the thrill of the hunt that keeps me coming back -- so long as my want list is still full of games.

[kentuckyfried]

Even better is when a guy at the flea market is selling something that he doesn't even know what it is, but has a price in mind.

(bought a ROB gyro spinner the other day like this)

I do the same as jibbjabba, I ask how much, if I don't like the price, I ask if they would take X, if yes, buy, if no, walk away.

I hate it when I ask if people will take x and they start a diatribe about why it's as much as they are asking, I just ask for a yes or no answer, then usually end up walking away.

[DeputyMoniker]

please see this topic about bartering and everything else flea market related.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=82275

plenty of great tips and stories there

Actually we have two threads on this subject.
Here is the other:
Clicky

[Vinnysdad]

The local flea market I go too has this one guy that has all his games resealed and priced already. I checked out his prices once and you dont know ridicilous until you see his prices. Common genesis games are about $12.99 and sports games are about $6.99. He refuses to budge on his prices. He tried to sell me a genesis/sega cd combo for a $100. I tried not to but I laughed at him. The worst part is this guy has a shop down the street from the flea market. How he stays in buisness is beyond me.

[mills]

Back when eb was phasing out carts. Saw Super Metroid for $38! I though INSANITY!


BUT THE NEXT DAY IT WAS GONE, SOMEBODY BOUGHT SUPER METROID FOR 38 DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!!!1


I found mine at game crazy for 8 bucks about 2 weeks later.
mint and original.

[Sothy]

fuck him.

20$ for 5 games marked 5$ each is acceptable.


Ya im sure people are beating down his door for that crap.

[Kitsune Sniper]

Me?

Incredibly enough, lowering the tone of my voice and... uh, generally looking at them straight in their eyes works wonders. I've gotten $1-$3 discounts on various items, heh.

There's this one seller who charges $8 for loose NES games. Every once in a while she has interesting PC games, but I steer away from the NES games because of those insane prices. One seller wanted me to pay $20 for a boxed NES game!

[DarkStraw]

lady at my flea market wants 10 dollars for her games, she has n64 and snes, and she had some good games too, harvest moon 64, some marios, but theres no way id pay 10 bucks a game at a flea market, thats just going to encorage her insane prices, she also has a bunch of ps1's she wants 40 bucks each for.

[joshnickerson]

I find that the regulars at the dirt mall (the one who are there every week and reserve the same tables) are more often than not the ones to look out for to rip you off. I've seen several vendors who have had the same sun faded common NES games sitting out in out in the weather for over a year now, and they'll refuse to go any lower than the marked $5 a pop. I've even seen one vendor with literally tables filled with loose SNES games, but he demands $25 a piece, even for sh*tty sports titles! I just have to wonder how they manage to keep coming and paying the table fees when they never seem to SELL any of their stuff!

The best people to buy from are the ones who just came to unload a bunch of crap instead of going through the hassle of having a yard sale, and they usually have no idea what anything's worth. That's how I scored Dragon Warrior 4 for four bucks, and a complete Tengen Tetris for $2. They also tend to be a lot more pleasant to talk to than the permenant vendors.

[intvsama]

Just gotta throw in my $.02

I find it kind of odd how some people will bitch about $5.00 SNES and N64 games at the flea market, and yet celebrate when Game Crazy has their classic 3/$15 sale.

As a flea market vendor myself, I price my games accordingly. I can't speak for everyone. I charge what games are worth, comparable and usually less than what game stores charge and I still get complaints. People bitch that SMB2 gets $7 but have no problem paying $10 for Popeye. People bitch I sell GTA: San Andreas used for $14 but don't realize it's $15+ tax in game shops.

Buy what you want at the prices they offer, haggle if you have the skills, don't bitch about their prices because you don't want to pay them.

[bangtango]

When all else fails, people will often charge $5 for any game on any console. At least when they don't have a price in mind.

For some reason, it is a nice and attractive round number that works for them.

Given that they don't have much knowledge on pricing, you do have to wonder where the carts came from and how much they paid. Perhaps some of these sellers bought a box of 25 or 30 loose NES games (commons) for $90-$100, not knowing any better. Maybe they got them on Ebay, in a classified ad, from a lawn sale or estate sale. Reselling at $5 apiece allows them to make a small profit back.

I'm not sympathizing with those people, nor would I buy their games, but there is probably a reason for their price.

If you really want to make a statement, then point them to this web site and the prices in the rarity guide. Of course, the drawback is that allows them the opportunity to try selling the games on the forums at inflated prices but that is a whole different story.

[Ed Oscuro]

$5 a cart is better than I can do on eBay, so if it's a game I want I'll take the deal. I just don't really have many better choices around here...

[bangtango]

$5 a cart is better than I can do on eBay, so if it's a game I want I'll take the deal. I just don't really have many better choices around here...

I have to agree here.

Seeing that the shipping for a single NES cart on Ebay can vary from $2-6, depending on the seller, sometimes $5 is the best you can do. This doesn't even take into account the starting price or the final bid.

You guarantee that you will receive the game, and be able to play it the same day, unlike Ebay. You also get to look at the actual condition ahead of time, instead of taking a picture or description as gospel. Stock photos or photos clearly stolen from other auctions are common.

A very good point you made.........

[Kitsune Sniper]

Just gotta throw in my $.02

I find it kind of odd how some people will bitch about $5.00 SNES and N64 games at the flea market, and yet celebrate when Game Crazy has their classic 3/$15 sale.

As a flea market vendor myself, I price my games accordingly. I can't speak for everyone. I charge what games are worth, comparable and usually less than what game stores charge and I still get complaints. People bitch that SMB2 gets $7 but have no problem paying $10 for Popeye. People bitch I sell GTA: San Andreas used for $14 but don't realize it's $15+ tax in game shops.

Buy what you want at the prices they offer, haggle if you have the skills, don't bitch about their prices because you don't want to pay them.

Difference being that stores like Gamecrazy at the very least give you the guarantee that the games will work. With many of these vendors it's much more of a gamble, and they won't take returns no matter what.